Jaw horse assembly and method

ABSTRACT

A jaw horse apparatus and method for using the same to support materials. The apparatus includes an adjustable bi-leg assembly which has a set of jaws which engage with a main elongated portion of a uni-leg assembly to form a three leg support. The main portion has an aperture which receives a rod holding an elongated head piece that has an adjustable hinge. An extension arm attaches to the leg of either the uni-leg or bi-leg assembly. The head piece and extension arm may be combined with head pieces on other jaw horse apparatuses or may be used separately to support various materials. The head piece may be a roller type, ball head type or a flat drilled head type, depending on the use of the apparatus. The apparatus when not in use may be folded up into a flat package.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for supportingmaterials and more particularly to a tri-leg jaw horse which supportsobjects during construction.

Saw horses have been used in construction sites for resting materialthereon so that the material can be cut and drilled. Conventional sawhorses have two pairs of downward extending legs that attach to a mainmember extending across between the pairs. Horses are placed adjacenteach other with flat boards resting on the main members. These flatboards create a working surface on which material is then laid.

A drawback to these horses is that they are bulky and take up a lot ofroom. Consequently horses cannot easily fold up to be stored. Furtherthese horses typically have four legs. Thus when the horses are placedon uneven surfaces the working surface tends to rock. Another drawbackto horses is that their maximum height is limited as their legs arefixed in length. Consequently the horses cannot be quickly and easilyadapted to positioning material thereon at different height levels.

The angle of prior horses main member is fixed with respect tohorizontal. It is often desirable to change the angle of the workingsurface to accommodate drilling or other construction tasks. Arequirement in construction is to be able to use these horses toposition materials at different levels so that they can be easily workedon. Prior horses have a fixed height and thus cannot accommodate workingwith materials placed at various levels.

Another requirement is that once the materials are placed on the sawhorse and the construction on the materials completed, these materialsare removed and replaced with new material. Prior horses have a rigidmain member that restricts the movement of the material when laidthereon. Consequently it is often difficult to remove the completedmaterial from the horse itself. Another objective in construction is toplace material at different levels simultaneously so that differenttasks can be accomplished simultaneously. Prior horses restrict thematerial to working at one level at a time unless many different sizedhorses must be used. Adding a large number of different size horsesincreases space requirement which is often limited on constructionsites.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the main aspect of the invention a jaw horse apparatus is providedwhich has a bi-leg assembly having a first and second locking member.The locking members have a leg portion and a jaw portion, where thefirst locking member is pivotally connected to the second locking memberbetween the jaw portion and the leg portion. A uni-leg assembly isprovided having a main portion which at one end is adapted to beremovably engaged between the jaw portion. A leg is integrally connectedto the main portion and extends at an obtuse angle away from the mainportion. An aperture extends through the main portion in a preferablyvertical orientation. An elongated rod or pipe is fed through theaperture. A removable head is supported adjacent one end of the rod whenthe rod extends through the aperture. A clamp is attached to the workpiece and engages with the rod when the rod extends through theaperture. The clamp securely holds the rod in place to prevent the headfrom turning. By engaging and disengaging the clamp with the rod, theheight of the head in the rod may be adjusted to accommodate differentlevels of working. Preferably an extension arm assembly attaches to theleg portion of the bi-leg assembly or uni-leg assembly. The extensionarm assembly has a U-shaped bracket partially surrounding the legportion and has an arm portion extending outwardly away from the bracketportion and the first and second leg portion. This extension supportsmaterial simultaneously with material being supported by the head sothat different materials can be worked on at different levelssimultaneously.

In another aspect of the invention a method for supporting materials isprovided. This method comprises the steps of providing a verticallyoriented bi-leg assembly having a first locking member with a first legportion and a first jaw portion. The bi-leg assembly also has a secondlocking member with a second leg portion and a second jaw portion. Thefirst locking member is connected with a pivot to the second lockingmember. The pivot is attached onto the first and second locking membersbetween the first leg portion and the first jaw portion. A pivot is alsoattached onto the second locking member between the second leg portionand the second jaw portion. A uni-leg assembly is then provided havingan elongated main portion and a third leg portion extending obtuselyaway from the main portion. The main portion engages with the first andsecond jaw portion.

The first, second and third leg portions rest on the ground when themain portion engages with the first and second jaw portion. An apertureis provided in the main portion while an elongated rod extends throughthe aperture. A first head is attached adjacent one end of the rod. Therod extends through the aperture while being supported in a verticalorientation when the main portion engages with the jaw portion and whenthe first, second and third leg portions rest on the ground. Preferablytwo or more of the jaw horse apparatuses are placed adjacent to eachother while an object is supported between one or more of the attachedheads of the jaw horse apparatus. In an alternate embodiment of theinvention, the orientation of the main portion with respect tohorizontal is changed by varying the angle of the bi-leg assembly withrespect to vertical.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the jaw horse having a rod attachedthereto with an interchangeable roller head, ball head or drilled headand having a detachable extension arm in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of two jaw horses shown in FIG. 1supporting material in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a side plan view of the jaw horse shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the jaw horse shown in FIG. 1 in its storageposition; and

FIG. 5 is a section view of the roller head along line 5--5 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1-3 there is shown a three-leg jaw horse apparatusdesignated generally by number 10. Jaw horse apparatus 10 includes abi-leg assembly 12 engaging with uni-leg assembly 14, and resting on theground. Extending through a cylindrically shaped aperture 16 in uni-legassembly 14 is a rod 18 which supports a removable head 20 (FIG. 1).Attached to bi-leg assembly 12 and uni-leg assembly 14 are extension armassemblies 22 and 24 (FIG. 2) respectively, which extend outward awayfromjaw horse 10 parallel to the ground. Extension arm assemblies 22 and24 as well as removable heads 20 can be used as shown in FIG. 2 tosupport various material 26 and 28 respectively or objects at differentlevels above the ground. An extension arm assembly 29 (FIG. 1) isconnected to uni-leg assembly 14.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, bi-leg assembly 12 includes locking members 30and 32. Each locking member has a respective L-shaped jaw portion 34 and36 orbracket and a respective leg portion 38 and 40. It is critical thatleg portions 38 and 40 are constructed with square tubing of a 14 gaugemild steel or better. A pivot 42 connects locking member 30 to lockingmember 32 between jaw portion 34 and leg portion 38, and between jawportion 36 and leg portion 40.

Retractable bar 44 (a and b) extends laterally across between themid-portion of leg portion 38 and the mid-section of leg portion 40.Retractable bar 44a is connected at one end to leg portion 38 with pin46,and bar 44b is connected at one end with pin 48 to leg portion 40.Pin 50 connects retractable bar 44a to 44b. Retractable bar 44 as shownin FIG. 4collapses about pin 50 so that locking member 32 and 30 rotatetogether about pivot 50 to collapse into a fold-up position. Retractablebars 44a and 44b expand outward to extend laterally between lockingmembers 30 and 32 to limit the outward span of leg portions 38 and 40.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, uni-leg assembly 14 includes an elongated mainportion 52 having a rectangular cross-section integrally connected atone end to leg portion 54 which extends outward away from main portion52 at an obtuse angle (φ). Jaw portions 34 and 36, also constructed ofsteel, pivot within leg portions 38 and 40 to clamp main portion 52.When clamped, jaw portions 34 and 36 securely hold main portion 5 inplace and prevent sliding.

Referring to FIG. 1, leg portion 54 is preferably rectangular incross-section and receives a telescopic leg portion 56 at one end. Legportion 56 has a plurality of apertures 57. A pin 58 inserts through anaperture 60, leg portion 54 an aperture 57, in telescopic leg portion56, out the other end of aperture 60. Preferably a cotter pin 64 is fedthrough aperture 66 of inserted pin 58 to hold pin 58 in place. Pin 58limits the movement of telescopic leg portion 56 within leg portion 54.Aperture 57 sets the height of rectangular main portion 52. Although notshown, leg portions 38 and 40 may be operative to receive a telescopiclegportion like leg portion 56. By using these telescopic leg portions,the height as well as the angle of main portion 52 can be adjusted.

Elongated rod 18 is preferably threaded with threads 66 at one end andinserted into aperture 16 at its other end. A clamp 68 preferablyincludesa threaded screw 70 which extends through main portion 52 intoaperture 16 to engage rod 18. Clamp 68 when turned, sets the amount ofpressure that threaded screw 70 applies to elongated rod 18. Preferablyscrew 70 engagesrod 18, to limit the upward and downward movement of rod18 within aperture16 and 10 to prevent the turning of rod 18.

Preferably screwably mounted on rod 18 through threads 66 is a removablehead 20. Heads 20 are interchangeable, examples include a roller head74, a ball transfer or ball head 76 and a flat drilled head 78. Rollerhead 74includes a cylindrically shaped roller 80 having a pivot 82extending through its axis and connected at both ends of roller 80 to aU-shaped bracket 84. U-shaped bracket 84 has a sleeve 86 whichthreadably engages with threads 66 of rod 18.

Another removable head 20 is ball head 76 having a rectangular flatplate 88 having semi-cylindrically shaped retaining rings 90 shown incross-section in FIG. 5. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, semi-sphericallyshaped retaining rings 90 restrain balls 92. Retaining ring 90 ispreferably attached to plate 88 using conventional means. Disposed onthe bottom surface of plate 88 is sleeve 94 which also removably mateswith threads 66.

Referring to FIG. 1, a third type of head 20 is drill head 78 having anelongated flat plate 98 preferably constructed with metal. Drilled outof plate 98 in a line are apertures 100 which are operative to receive adrill bit from a drill when material 28 (shown in FIG. 2) is placed ontopof drill head 78. Disposed on the bottom surface of plate 98 issleeve 86 which threadably mates with threads 66 of rod 18.

Referring to FIG. 1, an adjustable head 130 is shown with parallel sidewalls 132 and 134 and an aperture 136 extending therethrough. In oneaspect of the invention main portion 52 disengages from jaws 34 and 36andis replaced with head 130. Rod 18 holding head 20 is then insertedinto aperture 136 to support material using bi-leg assembly only.

In another aspect of the invention a fixed head 140 shaped identicallyto head 28 replaces main portion 52 to hold material. Fixed head 140 hasa sleeve 142 with facing parallel walls 144 and 146, and facing parallelwalls 148 and 150. Head 140 may be oriented such that either walls 144and146 or walls 148 and 140 mate with jaws 34 and 36.

Referring to FIGS. 1-2, there is shown extension arm assemblies 22, 24and 29 which are constructed identically. Referring to FIG. 1, extensionarm assembly 24 includes an arm portion 104 integrally connected at oneend toa U-shaped bracket portion 106 and at its other end to flangeportion 108. U-shaped bracket preferably has a flange portion 110 whichextends along one side of leg portion 38 and a second flange portion 112which extends parallel to flange portion 110 on the other side of legportion 38. Preferably an aperture 114 and 116 respectively are drilledthrough flangeportion 110 and 112 A pin 118 extends through apertures114 and 116 and is held in place with cotter pin 120.

To assemble arm extension 24, U-shaped bracket portion 106 is positionedaround leg portion 38. Pin 118 extends through apertures 116 and 119.Extension arm assembly 24 is held in place on leg portion 38 with pin18. Cotter pin 120 is fed through an aperture in pin 118 to hold it inplace. Assembly 24 when attached to horse 10, supports a material objectsuch as one designated by number 26 in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 1, it is recognized by the inventor that L-shaped jawportions 34 and 36 engage with main portion 52 to provide a stand inwhichrod 18 and heads 20 can rest. When bi-leg assembly 12 is in avertical position while engaging with main portion 52, elongated rod 18is positioned in a vertical orientation and the surface of plates 98, 88and the axis of roller 80 are positioned in a horizontal orientation.However,when leg portion 40 is tilted as designated by arrow A, theslope of main portion 52 is angled downward as designated by arrow B.Main portion 52 angling causes rod 18 to be angled as designated byarrow C to change the angle of the top surface of plates 88 and 98 orthe axis of roller 80 withrespect to horizontal. It is also recognizedthat by placing extension arms22 on jaw horse 10, in combination withusing a head such as roller head 74shown in FIG. 2, various materials orobjects can be supported simultaneously across two jaw horses 10a and10b shown in FIG. 2.

This concludes the description of the preferred embodiments A reading bythose skilled in the art will bring to mind various changes withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is intended,however, that the invention only be limited by the following appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A jaw horse apparatus comprising:a bi-legassembly having a first and second locking member, said locking membersbeing a leg portion and a jaw portion, said first locking member beingpivotally connected to said second member between jaw portion and saidleg portion; a uni-leg assembly having a main portion adopted toremovably engage between said jaw portion adjacent one end of said mainportion, and having a main leg integrally connected to the main portionand extending at an obtuse angle away from said main portion; anelongated rod having an axis extending longitudinally therethrough; anaperture extending through said main portion and operating to receivesaid rod to support said rod in a substantially vertical orientation; aremovable head supported adjacent one end of said rod when said rodextends through said main portion, said head and rod rotatable aboutsaid axis when said rod extends through said main portion; a clampattached to said main portion and engaging with said rod when said rodextends through said aperture, said clamp securely holding said rod inplace to prevent said head from rotating and to prevent said rod fromsliding in said aperture; a telescope leg portion slidably inserted intosaid main leg; and means for setting the length that said telescope legextends out of said main portion to change the angle of said rod withrespect to vertical.
 2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising a retractable bar extending laterally between the first legportion and the second leg portion, said bar limiting the span betweensaid leg portions, said bar pivoting about its mid portion to permit theleg portions to collapse toward each other to fold up the bi-legassembly.
 3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising anextension arm assembly attached to said leg portion of said bi-legassembly, said arm assembly having a U-shaped bracket portion partiallysurrounding said leg portion and having an arm portion extendingoutwardly away from said bracket portion and first and second legportion.
 4. The apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein said armassembly extends outward parallel to the ground.
 5. The apparatus asrecited in claim 3, wherein said head has a flat surface with aplurality of ball bearings resting thereon, said bearing being held inplace with semi-spherical shaped retaining rings.
 6. The apparatus asrecited in claim 3, wherein said head includes a cylindrically shapedroller pivotally supported at its end by a u-shaped bracket, saidbracket having means for mating with said rod.
 7. The apparatus asrecited in claim 3, wherein said bracket portion has a first and secondflange portion extending parallel to each other, said first and secondflange portion having an aperture operate to receive a pin; andwhereinsaid bracket portion includes a pin extending through said aperture insaid flange and operates to engage with the leg portion of the uni-legassembly to hold said extension arm in place on said leg portion.
 8. Ajaw horse apparatus comprising:a bi-leg assembly having a first andsecond locking member, said locking members being a leg portion and ajaw portion, said first locking member being pivotally connected to saidsecond member between jaw portion and said leg portion; a uni-legassembly having a main portion adopted to removably engage between saidjaw portion adjacent one end of said main portion, and having a main legintegrally connected to the main portion and extending at an obtuseangle away from said main portion an elongated rod; an apertureextending through said main portion and operating to receive said rod tosupport said rod in a vertical orientation; a removable head supportedadjacent one end of said rod when said rod extends through said mainportion; said head includes a flat plate with a plurality of aperturesoperative to receive a drill; and a clamp attached to said work pieceand engaging with said rod when said rod extends through said aperture,said clamp securely holding said rod in place to prevent said head fromturning and to prevent said rod from sliding in said aperture.
 9. Amethod for supporting materials comprising the steps of:providing avertically oriented bi-leg assembly having a first locking member with afirst leg portion and a first jaw portion, and having a second lockingmember with a second leg portion and a second jaw portion; extendingsaid leg portions diagonally deviated from said locking members;pivotally connecting said first locking member to said second lockingmember with a pivot; attaching said pivot onto said first and secondlocking members between said first leg portion and said first jawportion, and between said second leg portion and said second jawportion; providing a uni-leg assembly having an horizontally orientedelongated main portion and a third leg portion extending obtusely awayfrom said main portion; engaging said main portion with said first andsecond jaw portion; and resting said first, second and third legportions on the ground when the main portion engages with the first andsecond jaw portions; providing a first and second extension arm assemblyhaving an adjustable bracket portion and an elongated arm portionextending away from said bracket portion; attaching said bracket portionon said first extension arm assembly to either said first or second leg;and attaching said bracket portion on said second extension arm assemblyto said third leg in a direction perpendicular to the direction of saidfirst extension arm extends when said first extension arm is attached toeither said first or second leg; supporting shelves with said first orsecond arm assembly.
 10. The method as recited in claim 9 furthercomprising the steps of:providing an aperture in said main portion;providing an elongated rod operative to extend through said aperture;attaching a first head adjacent to one end of said rod; extending saidrod through said aperture to support said rod in a vertical orientationwhen said main portion engages with the jaw portion and when the first,second and third leg portions rest on the ground; and supporting anobject on the attached head when the rod extends through the aperture.11. The method as recited in claim 10, further comprising the stepsof:attaching a clamp to said main portion; and engaging said clamp withsaid rod to prevent movement of said rod in said aperture.
 12. Themethod as recited in claim 10, further comprising the steps of:removingsaid first head from said rod; and placing a different style of headonto said rod after said first head is removed.
 13. The method asrecited in claim 9, further comprising the steps of:providing atelescopic leg portion; inserting the telescopic leg portion into one ofthe leg portions; providing a first extension arm assembly having abracket portion and an elongated arm portion extending away from saidbracket portion; attaching the bracket portion to either the first,second third leg portion; extending the bracket at least partiallyaround the leg portion when the extension arm is attached; providing asecond shelf support assembly; extending a shelf with a flat top surfacefrom the arm portion to a second support assembly; supporting the topsurface of the shelf on the arm portion in a substantially horizontalorientation when the bracket portion is attached; adjusting the level ofthe extension arm with respect to the second shelf support assembly, tochange the orientation of the shelf top surface to horizontal; andadjusting the extension of the telescopic leg portion to change thehorizontal pitch of the shelf.
 14. The method as recited in claim 13,further comprising the steps of:attaching a second extension armassembly on one of the legs below the first extension arm assembly; andsupporting an object on the arm portion of the second extension armassembly.
 15. The method as recited in claim 10, further comprising thesteps of:removing the object from the attached head; disengaging mainportion from the first and second jaw; and pivoting the first legportion toward the second leg portion to fold up the bi-leg assembly.16. The method as recited in claim 9, further comprising the stepsof:providing a first, second and third telescopic leg portion; insertingthe first, second and third telescopic leg portions into theirrespective first, second and third leg portion; and adjusting the amountthat the first, second or third telescopic leg portions are insertedinto the respective first, second or third leg portion to changeorientation of the main portion.
 17. The method as recited in claim 9,further comprising the steps of:changing the orientation of the mainportion with respect to horizontal by changing the angle of the bi-legassembly with respect to vertical.
 18. The method as recited in claim 9,further comprising the step of:disengaging the main portion from the jawportion; providing a head portion having parallel side walls and anaperture extending therethrough; engaging the side walls of the headportion with the first and second jaw portion; extending the rod throughthe aperture in the head portion; and attaching the first head to therod to support material on the head portion when the rod extends throughthe aperture in the head portion in a vertical orientation.
 19. A jawhorse apparatus for supporting work materials comprising:a substantiallyvertically oriented bi-leg assembly having a first locking memberpivotally connected to a second locking member, said locking membershaving a rectangular cross section leg portion and a jaw portion at oneend of the leg portions, said jaw portion having in cross-section anL-shaped bracket, a retractable brace bar extending laterally across amiddle of said leg portion and operative when fully extended to limitthe expansion of the span between the leg portions; a uni-leg assemblyhaving an elongated main portion with a substantially rectangular shapedcross section adapted to be removably engaged between the L-shapedbracket of the jaw portion of the first and second locking member, saiduni-leg assembly having a leg portion with a rectangular cross-sectionand forming an obtuse angle with the main portion; a cylindricallyshaped aperture extending through said main portion and havingsubstantially vertical orientation when said main portion rests betweenthe jaws of the substantially vertical bi-leg assembly; an elongatedcircular rod extending through the aperture and having a head removablyattached to one end of the rod above the main portion; clamp meansextending through said main portion and engaging said rod for enablingsaid disabling movement of the rod within the aperture to change thelevel of the head; an extension arm assembly having a bracket portionattached to one of said leg portion and having an elongated arm portionextending away from said bracket portion; said arm portion operative tosupport an object when said extension arm is attached to one of saidlegs; said bracket portion including means for adjusting at variableintervals the level of said arm portion to maintain a fixed distancebetween the level of the head and the level of the arm portion when thelevel of the head is charged. a second shelf support assembly; a shelfwith a flat top surface extending from the arm portion to the secondshelf support assembly; said top surface of the shelf on the arm portionbeing supported in a substantially horizontal orientation when thebracket portion is attached; means for adjusting the level of theextension arm with respect to the second shelf support assembly, tochange the orientation of the shelf top surface to horizontal; and meansfor adjusting the extension of the telescopic leg portion to change thehorizontal pitch of the shelf.
 20. The apparatus as recited in claim 19,wherein the extension arm assembly attached to said leg or said legportion has a U-shaped bracket portion partially surrounding said legportion, said arm assembly extending outwardly away from said bracketportion substantially parallel to the ground and operative to supportmaterials; and wherein the extension arm assembly has means including apin extending through said U-bracket and engaging with said leg or saidleg portion for holding said extension arm in place at any positionalong said leg of said jaw horse.